WVU Women’s Basketball Melts Down Against Colorado

WVU Women’s Basketball held a 51-38 lead with less than a minute to play in the third quarter of their game against the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Colorado went on to close out the game on a 27-9 run, limiting the No. 14 Mountaineers to just two made shots in the fourth quarter as West Virginia (10-2, 0-1 Big 12) lost their Big 12 road opener 65-60.

While West Virginia raced out to a double digit lead in both the first and the second half, Colorado managed to reel them back in each time: perhaps the mile-high elevation in Boulder took its toll on the Mountaineers.

All in all, the Mountaineers made just 39.2 percent of their shots and 26.1 of their attempts from three. While West Virginia’s stingy defense did force 19 turnovers, the Buffaloes made a much cleaner 54.3 percent of their shots from the field, including a red-hot 9-of-11 stretch in the fourth quarter to take the lead… and then send the Mountaineers packing.

Jordan Harrison paced West Virginia with 18 points, three rebounds and five assists; JJ Quinerly added 15 points but did so on just 4-of-12 shooting, and no other Mountaineer managed to clear the ten point benchmark.

Harrison nailed a pair of threes early in the second quarter, putting the Mountaineers up by 10 each time, but Colorado continued to chip away, trimming West Virginia’s lead to 28-25 at the half. The Mountaineers led by as much as 16 points in the third period, embarking on a 15-2 run shortly after halftime that saw them hold Colorado scoreless for more than 4:30 of game time, but then the Buffaloes’ relentless march continued.

Junior Jade Masogayo made three consecutive layups in the waning minutes of the game, putting Colorado ahead for the first time since the first quarter… a lead they never relinquished.

Mark Kellogg’s WVU Women’s Basketball team will next take the court on Wednesday, Jan. 1, hosting UCF in their Big 12 home opener at 2 p.m.